Engine spark extinguisher



May 21, 1935. c. F. GERLINGER ENGINE SPARK EXTINGUISHER Filed March 27,' 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l am /279w.-

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y 1935. c. F. GERLINGER 2,002,027

ENGINE SPARK EXTINGUISHER Filed March 2'7, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Car/ 560/1270 Patented May 21, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,002,027 ENGINE SPARK EXTINGUISHER 7 Carl F. Gerlinger, Dallas, Oreg.

Application March 27, 1933, Serial No. 662,958 7 Claims. (01. 110-122) The specific object of my invention is to provide a locomotive spark extinguisher which will not interfere with eflicient draft, at the same time assure that all sparks emitted by the stack will be extinguished.

Since there are restricted overhead clearances for locomotives, it is ments of the spark necessary to confine all eleextinguisher to the interior of the smoke-box. So to arrange these elements is one of the principal objects of my invention.

Another object of my invention is so to arrange the elements that there is no direct passageway for the sparks from the'smoke-box to the stack.

In my invention the sparks are caused to travel in an indirect tortuous reversing course and strike impact elements, by which all burning particles discharged from the flue pipes into the smoke-box are reduced to such small size, and retained in my spark extinguisher for such length of time as to leaving the stack.

become extinguished before The small particles are in capable of retaining suificient heat for continued combustion; also, are smothered by their own comminuted mass, resulting from said impact. Should any s pass from the stack to retain suflicient tray small burning. particles these would be too minute heat to resist the chilling eiTect of the air; hence become immediately extinguished on escaping from the stack.

The details of construction of my spark extinguisher are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a vertical elevation of the smokeboxwith my spark extinguisher installed therein; Fig. 2 shows an elevation partly in section of the upper and "lower spark receiving and reducing elements of my extinguisher; and

Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Figs. l and give best results.

a representsthe smoke-box,

zle, c the stack, and usual, when the eng p the blower-nozzle used, as ine is standing still.

My spark extinguisher consists of upper and lower spark receivin g andreducing headers, ar-

ranged one above the other in approximate registration with the upper and lower courses of flue pipes (not shown) entering the smoke-box b.

If only a single sp ark receiving and reducing b the exhaust nozheader is provided, such tends to prevent uniform entrainment of the discharge from all the flue pipes to the stack; due to the vacuum created by the exhaust nozzle, concentrated thru the single header, tending to cause the entrain- 5 ing action to be greater upon those courses located nearest to the header, and retarding the entrainment of the discharges from the more remote courses of the flue pipes. Two headers located one above the other have in practice been successful in effecting substantially uniform entraining of the discharges from all the flue pipes to the stack.

The upper spark receiving-and-reducing header e comprises an interior downward extension d of the lower end of the stack 0, supported in place by brackets d:

The upper deflecting and impact header e is also supported by said brackets d and encompasses the stack extension d. Said upper header is closed by a ceiling e atthe top and has an interior concentric wall 1 dividing the lower part of said header into an annular reversing passageway e3 of substantially equal cross section throughout.v Baffles g, radially arranged, and in clined to a convenient oblique angle are located in said annular passageway e3, as illustrated by Figs. 2 and 3.

The baffles g and top or ceiling e of the header 6, constituteimpact and. deflecting elements. The lower end of the outer wall e of said header has an outward downward flaring portion or skirt 62. By such arrangement I promote the entrainment into the headers and stack funnels of the products of combustion discharged by the flue pipes in the smoke box.

Within the stack extension dislocated an upper stack-funnel it supported by brackets h, leaving an annular passageway d2 between the stackextension at and said stack-funnel h, thru the header e. The lower end of the stack funnel h is also flared, as shown by n2, and extends slightly below the lower end of the stack extension to promote the entrance of the products of combustion from the lower courses of the flue pipes. 45

The inner wall ;f of said upper header e extends below the header and supports the lower spark receiving and reducing header. This is also an impact and deflecting header 1' similar in construction to the above mentioned upper header, but of smaller diameter. The lower header is closed at its top a" and has an interior concentric wall lc, dividing the interior of this header into an annular reversing passageway 13. In such annular passageway are located bafiles Z,

radially arranged and inclined at an oblique angle, similarly to the baflies g. A lower stack-funnel 2' is supported by radial brackets 2" within the lower header 7' leaving an annular passageway 11 from the header 7' around the lower stack-funnel i. The lower stack-funnel i has a lesser diameter than the stack-funnel h. The lower end of the lower stack-funnel i is flared outwardly downward, as shown at 2'2; and the lower end of the outer wall of the lower header 9' is also so flared, as shown by 9'2. The lower end of the interior wall It extends below the lower header :1 and is closed by a wall 111. around the exhaust nozzle b and the blower nozzle 29.

Operation The exhaust steam from the engine is directed thru nozzle b to the stack 0, thus creating a vacuum which induces the gases and sparks discharged from the flue pipes into the smoke box to enter the upper and lower spark receivingand-reducing headers, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l.

The gases and sparks thus enter either the upper or the lower impact and deflecting headers e or a, which, as mentioned, are arranged relatively to the upper and lower courses of the flue pipes. On entering one of these headers the burning particles first impact with the baffles inthe inlet end of the annular reversing passageway of the respective headers. By such impacts the sparks are broken up-pulverized it may be saidinto such small bodies as to have insufficient heatretaining capacity to resist the cooling and extinguishing influences of the gases accompanying them to and in the stack.

The comminution of the burning particles by said impact also tends to smother them. The reversing of the passageways thru the headers to the stack prolong the travel of the particles within the stack, and thus their exposure to said cooling influences. Should any stray minute sparks escape while still burning from the stack, their heat-retaining capacity would be so low that their exposure to the air would cause them to become extinguished before settling.

While the specific details of the arrangement of the elements of my spark extinguisher, as illustrated and above described, in actual tests gave the best results, nevertheless, they are subject to variations within the principle of operation of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with the stack and the exhaust nozzle of the smoke box of a locomotive engine, a spark reducing and extinguishing means comprising an extension of the lower end of the stack within the smoke box, an upper-header encompassing said stack extension, comprising a ceiling, an outer wall, a partition within said-header arranged to constitute a reversing passageway connecting the smoke box with said stack extension, a lower-header coaxial with, but of lesser diameter than said upper-header, said lower header comprising an outer wall, an inner wall, a ceiling, and an inner partition arranged to constitute a reversing passageway connecting the smoke box with said stack extension, the ceiling of the lower header being connected to the lower end of the partition of said upper header and constituting the bottom of the inner end of said reversing passageway of the upper-header, a bottom closure for the space between the exhaust nozzle in the smoke box and said inner partition of the lower header.

2. The combination described by claim 1 including an upper stack funnel located within said stack extension and a lower stack funnel located in said lower-header, being of lesser diameter than, and communicating and being coaxial with said upper stack funnel.

3. The combination described by claim 1 including an upper stack funnel located within said stack extension, a lower stack funnel located in said lower header, being of lesser diameter than, and communicating and being coaxial with said upper stack funnel, the lower ends of the outer walls of said upper and lower headers and he lower ends of said stack funnels flaring outward.

4. The combination described by claim 1 including an upper stack funnel located within said stack extension, a lower stack funnel located in said lower-header, being of lesser diameter than, and communicating and being coaxial with said upper stack funnel, and baflles within said reversing passageways.

5. In a spark extinguisher insert for the smoke box of a locomotive engine, the combination of an extension of the lower end of the stack within the smoke box, a receiving and reducing header encompassing said extension, comprising a ceiling and an outer vertical wall, a partition within said header, said partition and header arranged to constitute a reversing passageway for the products of combustion from the smoke box into said stack, bafiiing elements incorporated in said reversing passageway, and means connected to the lower end of said partition forming a bottom of one leg of said reversing passageway and for directing the products of combustion passing therethrough into said stack extension.

6. The combination described by claim including a stack funnel within said stack extension.

7. The combination described by claim 5 including a stack funnel within said stack extension, the lower end of the outer wall of said header and the lower end of said stack funnel being flared outward.

CARL F. GERLINGER. 

